“It’s about enforcing traffic regulations, which are there for a reason.

“I don’t see an irony.”

Mr McArdle told the Comet: “I’d say that the impact of the current financial climate is wide ranging, but it would be improper of me to comment on how it might affect the council.

“In terms of my own activity I was particularly pleased with successfully taking over the enforcement of moving traffic contraventions from the police and improving links between the service and the business community.”

But David Mark, of Berrylands, who was hit with a box junction fine last year, said: “Cost can’t be a legitimate reason since they’re already collecting such huge sums from the public.

“They need to be managing the whole process in a thorough and competent way. It needs to be staffed by senior managers. Otherwise, what hope is there for the people who use Kingston’s roads?”

As honorary treasurer of the British Parking Association, Mr McArdle told members in a budget speech last year that belts were being tightened in the “age of austerity”.

A keen tweeter, he only occasionally talks shop online, though he praised improvements in car park management, and noted a particularly egregious instance of bad parking in which an ice cream van had ignored double red lines and no-parking cones.

Councillors decided in February that management of Kingston Council-owned car parks, like the Rose and the Cattle Market, will be handed to a private contractor, and responsibility for enforcing street parking bays would be negotiated jointly with Sutton Council.

Between 2008 and 2013 the council issued more than 200,000 parking fines worth more than £8.7m.

By law, profit from the fines must go to fund off-street parking, road maintenance, public transport, or projects approved by the Mayor of London.

Comments (2)

oh yes , CONtractors , where we sell something for a fiver and pay a tenner to rent it back .
'' By law, profit from the fines must go to fund off-street parking, road maintenance, public transport, or projects approved by the Mayor of London. '' so where does it go ?

oh yes , CONtractors , where we sell something for a fiver and pay a tenner to rent it back .
'' By law, profit from the fines must go to fund off-street parking, road maintenance, public transport, or projects approved by the Mayor of London. '' so where does it go ?pinky107

If Liz Green really thinks we believe her, when she says it's not about raising money, then she must think we are incredibly stupid.

What an insult.

If you don't think obtaining money in this way, so aggressively, in such an underhand way, is not going to upset people, then you must have no human empathy whatsoever.

The level of fine is massively disproportionate to whatever 'crime' anyone has committed.

Thames Water, which regularly brings traffic to a standstill, doesn't get fined in the same way.

Neither does Balfour Beatty, which has turned the cnetre of Kingston into a building site.

If Liz Green really thinks we believe her, when she says it's not about raising money, then she must think we are incredibly stupid.
What an insult.
If you don't think obtaining money in this way, so aggressively, in such an underhand way, is not going to upset people, then you must have no human empathy whatsoever.
The level of fine is massively disproportionate to whatever 'crime' anyone has committed.
Thames Water, which regularly brings traffic to a standstill, doesn't get fined in the same way.
Neither does Balfour Beatty, which has turned the cnetre of Kingston into a building site.OhThisBloodyPC